Ye Zhinan was recalling what had just happened. She only remembered meeting Qin Yihuai before she fainted, and knew nothing about what happened afterwards.
"Was I brought back by Inspector Qin?"
"You still remember to come back! A young girl getting drunk outside and being carried back. What would others think if they saw this?!"
Although Han Xiangmei was angry, thinking that it was Qin Yihuai who brought Ye Zhinan back, she felt a bit more at ease. But she still reminded her daughter again and again.
So it was him who brought me back!!!
The memories in Ye Zhinan's mind were suddenly awakened. She vaguely felt as if someone was carrying her. Thinking of this, her face flushed. Fortunately, the after - effect of the alcohol still made her face warm, so Han Xiangmei didn't notice much.
Ye Zhinan managed to finish the whole pot of porridge, and she felt much better. Thinking of what had happened the day before, she quickly got up.
Just as she was about to go out, she met Concubine Ten and her entourage coming to find her.
"Here are thirty ducks. Consider them as a deposit. We'll come to pick up the goods in a couple of days. You should be okay with that, right?"
"Just the ducks? Aren't you missing something?"
Those people casually dumped the ducks in the Ye family's yard, looking as if there was no room for refusal.
"I've already said the ducks are the deposit. I didn't even ask you for the money for the ducks, did I?"
"The ducks are one thing, but what about the labor fee? If you ask me to make the products, providing the raw materials is your responsibility. The labor fee and the cost of manpower can't be omitted!"
Were they really stupid or just pretending to be?
Ye Zhinan pressed on step by step and pushed the ducks back. "Maybe you should make them by yourselves!"
Those people covered their noses with handkerchiefs and were squeezed out by the ducks.
Concubine Ten quickly said sternly, "We'll pay you after we sell the goods. We've been busy preparing for this and don't have any extra money on hand for now."
"Then write an IOU!"
Saying that, Ye Zhinan took out paper and pen and placed them in front of everyone.
No way they could renege on the debt!
Concubine Ten had no choice but to sign the IOU.
Anyway, if they couldn't sell the goods, she had a way not to pay.
Since things had come to this, Ye Zhinan accepted the ducks. Seeing the Wei family members walking away, she got a cart and sent the ducks to Lu Yanlai's processing site.
"Are you really going to do this business with them?" Lu Yanlai looked reluctant.
"Sure. They won't last long!"
Seeing Ye Zhinan so confident, Lu Yanlai asked curiously, "What do you mean by that?"
Ye Zhinan winked mysteriously. "You'll know then."
After saying that, the two stopped discussing this matter, as there were various things to deal with.
If the Wei family wanted to open a store, then let them!
Sure enough, the Wei family was very efficient. They quickly got a shop in the East Market, and it was right next to Lu Yanlai's shop.
On the opening day, the shop was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and the gongs and drums were booming.
The North Border had never been so lively, not even on festive days.
The shop was a two - story building. In terms of momentum and scale, it was even more magnificent than the combination of Lu Yanlai's and Liu Ruonan's shops.
Liu Ruonan, with her big belly, came to Lu Yanlai's shop to join the fun.
"Sure enough, it's a Wei family's shop. It's so high - profile!"
"Shh. We know the inside story that it's a Wei family's shop, but publicly it belongs to the Liu family."
The Liu family was the distant relative that Concubine Ten had mentioned. No one knew what benefits the Wei family had given them, but they provided the money, the shop, and the staff. All the people soliciting business outside were from the Liu family.
Just then, a familiar voice came.
"Sir, please try our marinated food. It's just out of the pot. It's so delicious."
Lu Yanlai and Liu Ruonan followed the voice and saw Wei Shishi holding a plate of steaming duck livers, trying to stuff them into the hands of their customers.
"Wei Shishi, what are you doing?"
Liu Ruonan shouted, scaring Lu Yanlai, who quickly grabbed her.
"Let me handle it!"
"Wei Shishi, why are you stealing our customers?"
Wei Shishi was so scared that she shrank behind the male customer. "Oh, you scared me. We're practically one family. Why do we have to distinguish between yours and mine? I was just taking care of your customers. Why am I being unappreciated?"
The male customer couldn't resist the woman's sweet talk and also tried to mediate. This made Lu Yanlai feel very awkward, but thinking of Ye Zhinan's instructions before, she swallowed her anger.
Seeing that the two of them didn't say anything, Wei Shishi pulled two or three more customers to her shop.
Liu Ruonan was not convinced and wanted to argue, but Lu Yanlai stopped her. "Forget it. Let's take a break today. Close the shop!"
The two of them went to the Ye family angrily. Coincidentally, Ye Zhinan was hoeing the ground in the back yard.
"Why are you two here together?"
She took a few eggs from the chicken coop and dragged the two of them towards the kitchen.
"My mother just made spring pancakes. We'll have roast duck today!"
"How can you still think about eating? Our business is almost being snatched away."
Lu Yanlai looked solemn, and Liu Ruonan nodded in agreement.
"You can't get angry. Let me check on you first."
Ye Zhinan didn't seem to care what had happened. Every time Liu Ruonan wanted to speak, Ye Zhinan would divert the topic. Liu Ruonan had to hold back her words until the check - up was over.
"The baby is fine. You still need to supplement your blood."
Ye Zhinan said as she wrote a prescription for her and told her to take the medicine on time.
At this time, the roast duck was ready, and Han Xiangmei placed the dishes on the table one by one.
Lu Yanlai felt embarrassed to keep a long face, so she immediately helped set the table.
"Auntie's cooking is really good. That's why our shop can make so much money. But I don't understand why you let the Wei family get involved. I was really mad today."
Lu Yanlai told Ye Zhinan what had happened that day. The more she talked, the angrier she got, but Ye Zhinan just smiled and didn't say a word. She kept wrapping duck pancakes for Lu Yanlai.
"Come on, I've eaten enough!"
Finally, Lu Yanlai couldn't eat anymore and quickly stopped Ye Zhinan.
"What do you think of today's roast duck?"
A glint of cunning flashed across Ye Zhinan's eyes.
"It's as delicious as always!"
"Auntie's cooking skills are beyond doubt!"
"Do you think it's more difficult to make roast duck or marinated food?"
Lu Yanlai was stunned by the question. She paused for a moment and looked at Liu Ruonan. She saw that Liu Ruonan was also full of confusion and just shook her head inexplicably.
"Both are a bit troublesome."
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Ye Zhinan's lips. "Exactly. It's not that easy to make food delicious!"
The two of them still looked confused.
"So they don't want to do it themselves because it's troublesome. Then is it troublesome to manage a shop?"
Hearing this, Lu Yanlai suddenly had an epiphany. "I see!"
Liu Ruonan thought for a while and seemed to understand something. "But they did a good job today. Wei Shishi even came to steal our customers in person."
"Wei Shishi..."
Han Xiangmei suddenly sighed meaningfully. "This girl is too smart for her own good. It's a pity, such a pity!"
Lu Yanlai and Liu Ruonan looked at each other and smiled. "I see."
"You don't have to endure for too long, because Wei Shishi won't be able to endure for long."
After Ye Zhinan said that, she wrapped another duck pancake for each of them.
After they were full, Ye Zhinan saw the two of them off. As soon as she turned around, she saw Ye Shenyan looking at her thoughtfully.